Holly Collingwood: Where have all the yellow folders gone? | Moms

Holly Collingwood

Occupation: Stay at home mom by day and freelance writer for Collingwood Writing Services by night. Our family also owns ProActive Physical Therapy and Exercise Center.

About: I was born and raised in Alaska, which gave me an appreciation for all things independent. My first journal intrigued me at about the age of 8 and I don't think I've stopped writing since then. I like hot tea, amazing children's books, good jeans, traveling and eating out (neither of which we do very often). If you want to know more, checkout www.CollingwoodWriting.com.

Related Media

Buying school supplies is an evil parental scavenger hunt nightmare.

The teachers must sit around and laugh when they make the list for us.

The first item is: Two boxes of pencils, sharpened. Will my 2nd grader really use 24 pencils during the year or are they just accounting for 10 that get lost in heater vents, 5 that end up back at home in the backpack and 6 to snap?

And who has an electric pencil sharpener at home? So we either have to make the trek to their dad’s work, annoy all of his clients, play on the exercise equipment, squash a finger or two in the weights and sharpen pencils or we have to give him the pencils to take to work and sharpen for us. There are 36 of them among the kids’ lists and even though he’s self-employed, I’m pretty sure he should be doing something else at work. Or we can convince him to bring the sharpener home for an evening, and then have pencil shavings all over the house.

Glue sticks are at least easy. Erasers are easy. But then we get to the folders:

Buying school supplies is like trying to saddle one of the Suess Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz creatures.

I guess there are some parents who enjoy this hunt through big box stores for the exact size and brand of colored pencils that are required. I am not one of them. I wish there was a table at the school where I could bring a check on orientation night and pick up the kindergarten package and know that it was all there, in the correct color and size. But I do love seeing them learn and grow at school and I proudly hang their glue stick and construction paper creations all over our house.

And I send them out the door knowing, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” with your pencil boxes, rulers and 4 oz. bottles of glue will be amazing.

Holly Collingwood is married with three children. Read her Thursdays on Greeley Moms. Also check out her personal site here.